The start of this year’s baseball season has brought more than new players and a fresh start for the Arizona Diamondbacks. This year, both team and fans have a new restaurant, as well.

Game Seven Grill held its grand opening during the D-Backs home opener on April 1. The sports grill, which is operated in partnership with Levy Restaurants, took over the former Sliders location outside Chase Field in downtown Phoenix.

Located in the plaza directly outside the stadium’s main entrance, the restaurant serves slow-smoked barbecue, salads, burgers, sandwiches, dessert, beer and wine. It was designed to be more of a family-friendly restaurant than a sports bar.

The large restaurant is decorated in sports memorabilia such as game-day jerseys, baseball bats, a replica scoreboard and a photo of former coach (now broadcaster) Bob Brenly holding the World Series Trophy after the D-Backs won Game 7 of the 2001 World Series.

“That building is so important to energize the plaza,” said Diamondbacks President Derrick Hall. “Sliders wasn’t as much about the D-Backs. Game Seven Grill is about us. Game 7 is so important to us and our history.”

Barbecue is the core of Game Seven Grill’s menu.

Levy Restaurants executive chef Michael Snoke, who oversees the food and beverage programs at Chase Field, was inspired by his recent visits to Houston and Kansas City, Mo. The barbecue restaurants in those cities weren’t fancy, but the food was “incredible.” Barbecue, he said, is the perfect summer food.

“When I heard about this restaurant, I immediately thought of barbecue,” Snoke said. “I walked through the breezeway and had a vision of filling it with the smell of barbecue.”

Snoke and crew added a commercial-sized Southern Pride meat smoker near the front of the restaurant. They can smoke hundreds of pounds of ribs, beef brisket, chicken, turkey and pork at once. They serve the meats in sandwiches, atop burgers and nachos.

Diners also can order several types of wings ($10.95), including what the restaurant calls “The Hottest Wings in Baseball.” Diners have to sign a waiver to try the super-hot wings, which are made with ghost pepper. Ghost peppers are some of the hottest chiles in the world, with a Scoville heat rating around 1 million units (a habanero has a maximum Scoville rating of 350,000).

On the kids menu, dishes ($5.95) include hot dogs, chicken tenders and macaroni and cheese.

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